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Post subject: Got a P-90 in the neck, sounds like MUD ! Tone cap value ?
Posted: Sat Oct 16, 2010 5:01 am
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Anyone have a proper tone cap value for me ?
this is a franken guitar with dual P-90's, the bridge sounds great the neck like deep mud.

Thanks in advance for any help.

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Post subject: Re: Got a P-90 in the neck, sounds like MUD ! Tone cap value
Posted: Sat Oct 16, 2010 6:35 am
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blues bondsman wrote:
Anyone have a proper tone cap value for me ?
this is a franken guitar with dual P-90's, the bridge sounds great the neck like deep mud.

Thanks in advance for any help.


A cap change is not your answer. Rather, the answer is found in the collective pot resistance. In your case though, if you feel the bridge pickup is perfect but the neck is mud, changing the pot resistance value(s) shall reverse your problem. See, a higher resistance pot combo will siphon out the neck pickup's mud but in turn, will render the bridge pickup's tonality, "anemic".

What to do?

Solder from your neck pickup's terminal on the pickup selector switch to ground, a 470K resistor. (They cost like two for a dollar at any Radio Shack type store.) What this accomplishes is, any and every time the neck pickup is selected, the pickup will electronically 'see' a higher resistance pot circuit, thereby thinning out the mud.

Problem solved!

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Post subject:
Posted: Sat Oct 16, 2010 7:21 am
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Try lowering the pickup.

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Post subject:
Posted: Sat Oct 16, 2010 8:32 am
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well i put in a 033 cap with my p90s much nicer sound.


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Post subject:
Posted: Sat Oct 16, 2010 3:05 pm
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yikes three different answers.
The pickup height seems good, more than enough compared to the bridge which is much closer, but you have never given me bad advise before CF.

I was sure it was a cap across the tone pot causing the fuss ?

The tone pots are gibson 250 k

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Post subject:
Posted: Sat Oct 16, 2010 3:07 pm
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I guess i should have stated that I have two tone pots one for each pickup.

a three way switch and a volume pot

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Post subject:
Posted: Sat Oct 16, 2010 4:51 pm
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blues bondsman wrote:
I guess i should have stated that I have two tone pots one for each pickup.

a three way switch and a volume pot


Not to confuse the issue but P-90s are in the "gray area" DC resistance wise between which is more of an appropriate pot value for them. In all situations, it ultimately depends on what the end user prefers as you shall see.

Note that if a tone pot is on 10, no treble is being shunted to ground through the capacitor. Please remember this and read on:

Using a lighter cap will only make the tone pot less extreme in terms of the amount of treble it rolls off. In other words, the lighter the cap, the less bassy the pickup will sound as you back it's tone pot down to '0'.

It is the resistance of the circuit via the pots which help determine the ultimate tonality of the pickups. In your situation, if you switched to 500K pots, both your pickups' midrange 'punch', 'rip' or whatever you want to call it would be 'farmed out', replaced by more present highs, an infinitely milder midrange and more percussive lows than what you are hearing now with the 250Ks. Granted, 500Ks would be great for solving your neck pickup's problem as you can see but these same 500K pots with your bridge pickup would make it sound rather anemic, essentially destroying everything you like about it. Again, per my opening paragraph, you're in the "grey area" where ideally, a 500K for the neck and a 250K for the bridge would be perfect. Unfortunately, this would require two isolated circuits and of course, would not be practical. This is why I suggested the resistor. The neck pickup would be 'faked out' into believing it has 500K pots. As you now can see too, capacitor values are irrelevant in this context.

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Posted: Sat Oct 16, 2010 4:56 pm
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I will try your sollution also. I have a few resistors laying around.
thanks

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Post subject:
Posted: Sat Oct 16, 2010 8:05 pm
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blues bondsman wrote:
I will try your sollution also. I have a few resistors laying around.
thanks


You want as close to 500K as possible.

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Posted: Sun Oct 17, 2010 6:24 am
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Thanks again !
I'll dig this thread up after i get some results

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